While the annual payroll job growth may be slowing, the year-over-year unemployment survey shows the outlook is improving. The labor force grew by 6,800 people from July 2012 to July 2013 while the number of people who said they were unemployed dropped by 27,500. That’s caused the unemployment rate to fall from 9.5 percent in July 2012 to 7.8 percent in July 2013. There were 125,900 unemployed San Diegans in July.

In another bright spot for the July job growth, the construction field added 2,600 workers. More constructions jobs lead to more housing, which means people need to buy items for those homes. Overall, construction jobs are up 5.1 percent from July 2012.

The additions could be related to the momentum in the housing market.

In July, countywide real-estate sales reached a seven-year high. The median price of $417,500 was a 22 percent increase from a year ago. Construction employment has now surpassed 60,000 for the first time since August 2009, but the number of jobs is still down from the roughly 90,000 in summer 2007, the last peak building season before the Great Recession.

“It’s a very positive trend but if you are at home unemployed and your entire life was formerly devoted to the construction industry, you’re not going to do the leap dance of joy because of these numbers,” said Borre Winckel, president of the San Diego Building Industry Association. “You were going to look for much more robust permit growth.”

Half way through the year, Winckel said residential permits authorized in the county are not on pace to reach 12,000, a total he considers healthy. The BIA reports 4,024 permits for new single and multi-family residences through June.

Some construction workers who saw their jobs disappear during the Great Recession either had to retrain or turn to lower-paying fields that are hiring, such as leisure and tourism. The hospitality industry added the most jobs in July, bringing on 2,700 new employees.

Adjusted for seasonality, Gin said the county jobless rate jumped from 7.1 percent to 7.3 percent from June to July. Reaser had it moving from 7.2 percent to 7.4 percent.

Statewide, California’s unemployment rate, which is adjusted for seasonality, increased to 8.7 percent, as the state added 38,100 payroll jobs. The state’s jobless rate rose because 65,000 fewer people reported they had jobs last month. The rate increased from 8.5 percent in June. It was the first such bump since the spring of 2011.

California’s rate continues to exceed the U.S. unemployment rate, which dropped slightly to 7.4 percent for July.